Here’s Your Gift!

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Have you missed hearing my voice? As a little gift for you, I recorded all the Memos related to the Blue Zones docuseries in one audio for your listening pleasure. The advantage is you can download it to your phone or tablet and listen to it over and over again. Instead of looking up the Memos on drchet.com, you can listen on your device.

Do you remember the four lifestyle concepts of most people who live in Blue Zones? It may benefit you to hear them again, especially as we all start thinking about health changes we want to make next year.

Click here to buy the audio for free.

I hope you enjoy this small gift to help you stay on a healthy track for 2024. As always, it comes down to just one question:

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Shhhh… It’s a Secret!

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If your house is as busy as ours, you probably don’t mind that today’s Memo is very short. Here’s the deal: the next Memo will come Friday instead of Saturday and will include a freebie just for subscribers, whether you’re on the Nice list or the Naughty list. Stay tuned to see exactly what’s to come.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Lifestyle, Activity, and Aging

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Here’s the question: if the subjects with the highest leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) lived longer, why did those subjects age faster based on the tests used in the study? The answer is complicated.

Exercise and Longevity

The researchers analyzed the data several ways. In the first analysis, they adjusted the data for sex, age, and health status; that makes sense because we know those factors impact longevity independent of exercise. Then they adjusted for education, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol use.

The first model was as expected with a continuing decrease in rate of death as physical activity increased. But when the other factors were included in the analysis, the hazard ratio (risk of dying) dropped from 23% to the reported 7%. What does it say in simple terms? If you smoke, drink a lot of alcohol, or are overweight or obese, exercise can only do so much. In short, your lifestyle matters.

Biological Aging

Taken from the paper’s text:

“Biological aging is the gradual and progressive decline in system integrity that occurs with advancing age and results in increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Epigenetic clocks produce estimates for biological aging based on DNA methylation (DNAm) alterations within specific locations in DNA sites and are one of the primary hallmarks of biological aging.”

The blood tests used two biological aging “clocks” based on the subjects’ DNA. They found that those who were the most active had a similar aging pattern in their DNA to those who were sedentary. That’s why the headline said high levels of LTPA increased aging.

What they couldn’t explain was why. They defined high levels of physical activity as ranging from fast walking to competitive running—that’s a pretty wide range. Does high LPTA damage those areas of DNA more? Why would it be similar to being sedentary? It lends itself to examining the measurement used for the test and to future research on other factors that may play a role, such as nutrition.

The Bottom Line

The paper provides insight into the importance of physical activity in our lives. What needs further examination is why high levels of physical activity would result in damage to DNA that mimics someone who is sedentary and raises the question of whether excessive exercise has a negative effect. As unusual as it would be to say someone exercises too much, it’s possible, and it could be more harmful as we get older. But it’s important to note that only 5% of the subjects had biological aging tested, so the sample size is small considering the follow-up was 30 years.

The real message? Physical activity isn’t enough to overcome a poor lifestyle. The damage caused by excess weight, smoking, and alcohol use can’t be overcome by exercise alone, even at high levels of physical activity. It still comes down to what I always say: Eat less. Eat better. Move more. That’s a great place to begin.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.02.23290916

How Exercise Affects Aging

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If a headline says, “exercise could make you age faster,” you know I absolutely must read it. There were a variety of commentaries on an unpublished study by Scandinavian researchers who won the Finnish national sports medicine prize; an advanced copy was published in PUBMED.

Researchers used data collected from an ongoing twins study with close to 23,000 twins who were 18 to 50 years old when the study began in 1975. The variables they used were leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) collected via questionnaires, self-reported height and weight, smoking and alcohol use, as well as education level. The data were collected from one to three times on the subjects; researchers also collected blood samples on 1,153 twins over the years as well. They gathered the samples to determine biological measures of aging using epigenetic clocks, biochemical tests that can be used to measure age. Their primary outcome measure was mortality, both in the short term and long term.

What did they find? As I would have expected, as LPTA levels increased, all-cause mortality decreased. But was it as simple as that? That doesn’t fit the headline. There’s more, and I’ll cover it on Saturday.

Speaking of what I’ll cover, on tomorrow’s Insider conference call the topic will be V.O.M.I.T. as well as answering your questions (including what V.O.M.I.T. is). You don’t want to miss this one, so give yourself a healthy Christmas gift and become an Insider by tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.02.23290916

Anticipate Change

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Adapt. Innovate. Improvise. Overcome. That’s a group of words I put together years ago about how to respond when faced with challenges. The approach works in the present. When it comes to changes in health that are associated with aging, we don’t know exactly what they will be. Therefore, we must anticipate what might happen. I’ll give you some examples to consider.

Things to Consider

What we value the most is our independence. Still, your body will change; you may see changes in strength, balance, vision, joint health, mental acuity, or fitness. That doesn’t count any new conditions or diseases.

Should you continue to drive? That would be about the last thing I’d want to give up, but glaucoma may have a say in it. And reaction time declines with age. Which abilities can you work to improve? What alternatives can you prepare for?

Having a two-story home with a basement is great. Will you always have the capacity to go up and down the stairs to do laundry or to retrieve stored items? Would moving to a ranch home with everything on one level be a better choice?

Going up and down a ladder to clean gutters could become a problem. Heck, getting the extension ladder out of the garage could be an issue. Plan for gutter covers. That’s one change I made when I could do it myself. I could still clean them, but now I don’t need to.

What about cooking? Cleaning? Snow shoveling? Lawn maintenance? Anticipate what you really want to do yourself and what you’re willing to let someone else do.

Am I Just Giving Up?

Understand this. This is not about giving up; this is making a conscious decision to adapt to new circumstances. Your body is different from what it used to be.  Doesn’t matter whether you’re 40 now, or 50 or 60 or over 70—your body doesn’t have the same capabilities, and it will differ even more in 10, 20, or 50 years. You must adapt to it, or you’re going to end up frustrated all the time. Because believe me, you’re not going to be able to do everything that you used to do in the same way.

Anticipate the changes that may occur. If you start preparing for that now while you may not need it, you’ll be ready for it if you do. The choices of what you will and will not be able to do are going to be different for every person, but we can probably all stand to simplify our lives.

Anticipate. Innovate. Improvise. Adapt. And you will overcome.

The Bottom Line

There’s a new year on the horizon, so now is a good time to think about the changes I’ve talked about. Most of us are not good at anticipating what our bodies will do, but I can virtually guarantee one thing: the less body mass you have, the easier it will be to do everything. What you can do starting now is methodically get to a normal body weight for your height, stay active, and work on your strength and stamina. I’ll continue to provide you with research-based actions you can take to age with a vengeance. Nobody ever said you have to go quietly.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Life Is Change

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Do you ever think about your life in five or ten years or even longer? Doesn’t matter how old you are today, whether you’re 30 or 70. What will your life be like? Let me define it more clearly for you with this example.

After Thanksgiving, Paula began setting up the Christmas tree. As she hit a snag with the lights, she stopped and asked herself a question: will I be able to do this in five or ten years? Not just putting ornaments on the tree, but all the other tasks associated with it. We talked and she decided the answer was no; it just wasn’t worth the tears and frustration. I heartily agreed—I can’t stand it when she cries. We bought a smaller tree that’s easier to set up, sold the old one to a younger family who wanted one that large, and moved on.

That’s what I’m talking about. It doesn’t matter your age or your health today. Your body is going to change as you get older. What are you going to be willing to change? What are you determined to fight for? It’s not a question of giving up; it’s a question of planning. We’re trying to be smart about choosing our battles.

We’re still going to have a large-ish tree with amazing decorations. Ten years from now, we may downsize again, but in the meantime we have a tree we can manage.

Then there are the things we’ll fight for. Two torn biceps and a fall on the ice last winter has made picking things up over my head challenging. I found that out when Riley asked me to pick him up like I used to even as little as a year ago. Training will only get me so far; the joints and tendons still have the damage of seven decades, but I’ll keep working to build back strength. Paula is working in physical therapy toward another new knee in January, because she has things to do and places to go.

I’ll continue this train of thought in the Saturday Memo with some potential solutions.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Yes, the Nutrients Are There

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My question is whether you get any nutrients besides sugar and fat from those marshmallow-covered yams or the green beans swimming in condensed mushroom soup and topped with fried onions from a can. The research on cooking techniques and retention of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in vegetables and fruits is not extensive but overall, the answer is yes. Here’s a synopsis of what I found.

Cooking and Nutrients

The vitamin that seems to be lost regardless of whether it’s boiled, microwaved, or sauteed is vitamin C. Microwaving seems to preserve the most nutrients, but close to 90% of vitamin C is lost.

For some nutrients, such as beta-carotene and other carotenoids, starting with fresh vegetables as opposed to frozen seems to help retain nutrients. The amounts of carotenoids in carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and yams seem to increase when they are cooked. The same may be true in greens such as spinach and collard greens. Adding bacon doesn’t appear to cause any issues. Using nuts and fruit to make the veggies more attractive can add nutrients as well; for added color and texture, we added slivered almonds and pomegranate seeds to the brussels sprouts with parmesan—yum!

Casseroles may provide the best cooking style when appropriate. Whatever minerals leech out of the vegetables or fruits will be retained in the liquid of the casserole.

Surprise Finding

Cooking may reduce the amount of pesticide residues in vegetables. It’s nice to know that blanching, boiling and even stir frying may decrease residues by 10–80%. The research didn’t look at the liquid used for blanching or boiling, so we don’t know whether it’s a chemical change in the structure of the pesticide or it just leaches it out. Still, it was a welcome surprise.

The Bottom Line

Traditional holiday foods do retain beneficial nutrients. They can’t offset all the fat and sugar that were added, but we’re getting some of the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients the foods contain. To me, the real lesson is that the way the food is prepared may help you eat more vegetables and fruit. Steamed green beans? Yecch. But covered in a sauce? Maybe that will help get more vegetables into your picky eaters. As long as we control the amount and the frequency, we can feel good about eating holiday foods all year long.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Food Sci Biotechnol. 2017 Dec 12;27(2):333-342
2. Nutr Bull. 2022 Dec;47(4):538-562.  doi: 10.1111/nbu.12584.
3. Foods. 2022 May 18;11(10):1463. 

Nutrients in Holiday Foods

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I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. With all the traditional and maybe not-so-traditional foods associated with the holidays, did you wonder how you fared from a nutrient perspective? We had a few of those foods that make you wonder: cheesy grits, corn pudding, and cranberry chutney to go along with the turkey. And don’t forget that pumpkin pie.

Never one to leave well enough alone, I wondered how much nutrition we actually get from traditional holiday foods that typically include more fat and involve more than just lightly steaming vegetables. How much butter and cream did you add to those mashed potatoes? How long did those greens beans cook? How about those marshmallows on the yams?

Do we end up with any nutrients—especially phytonutrients—from all those vegetables and fruit? Yes, you do, and how you cook the food makes a difference; in fact, one nutrient may increase with cooking! I’ll tell you what the research says on Saturday, but one thing’s for sure: Thanksgiving beats Halloween for nutrition.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Fiber: Food or Supplements?

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We don’t seem to eat enough whole or minimally processed plant foods, so the researchers were trying to discover whether getting fiber, especially insoluble fiber, was better from plant material or whether taking fiber in supplement form would suffice.

Researchers approached the question from the perspective of other beneficial nutrients that might be found in plants that might be processed out of fiber supplements. They conducted a literature search and found that just 44 studies that examined the phytonutrient content of many plant foods and met their criteria. They focused on insoluble fiber which would be found in the skin of apples and beans, seeds and nuts, and many other components of raw foods that are discarded in processing.

Bioactive Nutrients are Present

While the techniques are complicated and resulted in very long lists of various phytonutrients, insoluble fiber contains many of them. Part of the issue is that there are components we would never eat such as corn cobs or the peels of oranges. Fortunately, there are enough plants that we ordinarily eat that contain insoluble fiber.

That doesn’t mean that soluble fiber such as inulin and psyllium are not beneficial; they add bulk to the stool and help the digestive system in general. It also doesn’t mean that every source of insoluble fiber is beneficial; phytic acid found in the shells of beans can prevent minerals from being chelated and thus absorbed, but cooking the beans breaks down phytic acid without destroying the insoluble fiber. The good news is that the phytonutrients are there as we eat the foods.

Food or Supplements?

The study didn’t completely answer the question, mostly because of the paucity of research on insoluble fiber (or any type of fiber) and the beneficial nutrients it contains. They suggested that the challenges presented to the taste and textures of adding insoluble fiber to foods might be too challenging to be accepted by the public. While it’s easy to say “eat more plant-based foods,” getting people to do it is really difficult.

So if “Food or supplements?” is the question, my answer would be “Yes!” I think the convenience of having psyllium and inulin in powders is great because they mix well with water and can be put into drinks as long as they are consumed quickly. Adding a squeeze of lemon or a no-calorie flavor packet can make the drink more palatable.

For insoluble fiber, I think food is the way to go. Apples and pears with their peels, cooked red, black, chickpea, great northern, and other beans, root vegetables such as sweet potatoes and yams, carrots, oatmeal, flax seed, and bran as in bran flakes are excellent choices. They can be used in cooking, so be creative. Black bean salad, hummus, chili with beans, and many more sources can be eaten on a regular basis. We just have to seek them out.

The Bottom Line

The big benefit of insoluble fiber from foods is all the other phytonutrients you’ll also be getting. Just make sure you use spices to make them more palatable, including a little sugar if necessary. With Thanksgiving less than a week away, think of the sides you can create that could include root vegetables, beans, and other foods high in insoluble fiber. The old saying about an apple a day was more correct than we knew.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Paula, Riley, Jamie, and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you get to spend it with family and friends. The Memo will resume the following week. Be well and travel safely.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nutrients 2023, 15, 4138. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu151941382.

Natural Fiber vs. Added Fiber

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In a recent paper, researchers reviewed the literature to see whether there are benefits to eating more plant foods or whether adding insoluble fiber to processed foods would be an adequate substitute. But first, a review.

The Recommended Dietary Intake of fiber is 25–35 grams per day; American adults eat only 10–15 grams per day. You see the problem. Besides the benefit to the digestive system, other benefits include a lower risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Different fibers deliver different health benefits, depending on the chemical properties such as solubility, viscosity, and fermentability. That last one is an important one; the type of bacteria that proliferate in your gut is dependent on what you feed them.

Does insoluble fiber from vegetables, beans, nuts, and fruits, could provide better health benefits than getting fiber from processed foods or taken as a supplement? Many processed foods have their fiber removed, and then fiber is added to whatever food is made such as breads, pasta, and cereals. Turns out that plant foods may be better but not for the reason you might think. Isn’t fiber just fiber? I’ll tell you on Saturday.

Tomorrow night is the monthly Insider conference call. I’ll answer your Insider questions about conditions and products, and also expand on my recent take on vaccinations. Become an Insider by 8 p.m. Eastern tomorrow night and you can join in live!

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nutrients 2023, 15, 4138. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu151941382.